Russian Sanctions and Crypto Exchange Access Limitations: How Garantex, Grinex, and A7A5 Are Being Targeted

When Russia was hit with sweeping financial sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine, many assumed banks and wire transfers would be the only targets. But by 2025, the real battleground had shifted to cryptocurrency. Russian users, cut off from SWIFT and Western banking systems, turned to crypto exchanges to move money, pay for goods, and protect savings. What followed wasn’t just a technical workaround-it was a full-scale financial arms race between Russian operators and U.S. enforcement agencies.

Garantex: The Exchange That Started It All

Garantex wasn’t just another crypto platform. Founded in 2018 by Sergey Mendelev, Aleksandr Mira Serda, and Pavel Karavatsky, it became one of the most popular exchanges among Russian users. Why? Because it didn’t ask for ID. It didn’t block ruble deposits. It let people trade USDT-Tether’s dollar-backed stablecoin-without interference. For millions of Russians, Garantex was the only reliable bridge between their local economy and the global crypto market.

But that also made it a target. In April 2022, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) first sanctioned Garantex under Executive Order 14024, calling it part of Russia’s financial services sector. At the time, it was seen as a warning shot. But by 2025, the U.S. had shifted from deterrence to dismantling.

On March 6, 2025, the U.S. Secret Service led a global operation that seized Garantex’s domains, confiscated servers, and froze over $26 million in cryptocurrency. One of its co-founders, Aleksej Besciokov, was arrested in India while on vacation. The exchange went dark overnight. For Russian users, it was like losing their bank account-but with no customer service, no refunds, and no recourse.

Grinex: The Successor Built to Evade

Garantex didn’t disappear. It just changed names.

Within days, employees launched Grinex. Its own website openly admitted it was created “in response to sanctions and asset freezes that affected Garantex.” This wasn’t a coincidence. It was a deliberate strategy. Grinex didn’t just replicate Garantex’s services-it improved them. It offered faster withdrawals, lower fees, and a new tool to help users recover their locked funds: the A7A5 token.

A7A5 is a ruble-backed stablecoin issued by a Kyrgyzstani company. Unlike USDT, which can be frozen by Tether’s central team, A7A5 was designed to be resistant to takedowns. It ran on both TRON and Ethereum, making it harder to track. Russian users flooded into Grinex, depositing billions in crypto to swap for A7A5 and regain access to their money.

By August 2025, OFAC had had enough. On August 14, 2025, it sanctioned Grinex under Executive Order 13694-this time specifically for acting as a successor to Garantex. The designation was blunt: Grinex was “owned or controlled by, or having acted for or on behalf of, Garantex.” This wasn’t just about one exchange anymore. It was about cutting off the entire ecosystem.

The A7 Network: A $8 Billion Underground Economy

Grinex didn’t operate alone. It was part of a larger network known internally as the “A7” ecosystem. Companies like A7, A71, A7 Agent, InDeFi Bank, and Exved all shared infrastructure, wallet addresses, and leadership ties. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, these entities processed over $8 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since early 2024.

That number is likely too low. Elliptic’s researchers admitted it’s a conservative estimate because many wallets remained hidden. The A7 network didn’t just move money-it moved ransomware payments, darknet market funds, and state-linked financial flows. The U.S. government called it “a critical enabler of malicious cyber activity.”

What made the A7 network so hard to shut down? Obfuscation. Garantex used complex wallet hopping, mixing services, and fake transaction trails to hide the origin of funds. But in 2025, Elliptic cracked it. They traced patterns across thousands of wallets and mapped connections between A7-linked entities. That intelligence directly led to the March 2025 server seizures and the August 2025 sanctions.

Then came the leaks. In mid-2025, internal documents from an A7 company were exposed online. They revealed cryptographic keys used to sign A7A5 transactions. For a brief time, anyone could track where the money went. But by August 14, 2025-same day as the Grinex sanctions-those keys were rotated. Wallet activity spiked. The A7 network was adapting again.

Who’s Being Targeted-and Why

The August 2025 sanctions didn’t stop at Grinex. OFAC added three Garantex executives: Mendelev, Serda, and Karavatsky. Six companies linked to them in Russia and Kyrgyzstan were also blocked. The U.S. Department of State offered up to $6 million in rewards for information leading to their arrest. $5 million was specifically offered for Serda, the former chief commercial officer.

This was a new level of pressure. Before, sanctions hit companies. Now, they hit people. And not just any people-those who ran the systems, designed the tokens, and moved the money. The message was clear: if you build tools to evade sanctions, you become a target.

The timing wasn’t random. President Trump’s August 26, 2025 statement threatening new sanctions if Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine signaled that crypto enforcement was now tied to broader geopolitical strategy. Sanctions weren’t just about finance anymore-they were part of war policy.

What This Means for Russian Crypto Users

For ordinary Russians, the impact is brutal. Garantex is gone. Grinex is blocked. A7A5 is now flagged by every major wallet checker. Even if you find a new exchange, you risk losing your funds overnight. Banks won’t help. Western exchanges won’t serve you. And the Russian government doesn’t have a reliable domestic alternative.

Some users are turning to peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms like LocalBitcoins or Telegram-based traders. But those are riskier. Scams are common. Prices are volatile. And if you’re caught using a sanctioned token, your wallet could be frozen by a foreign exchange you never even used.

The ruble has lost nearly 40% of its value against the dollar since 2022. Crypto was supposed to be the escape hatch. Now, that hatch is being welded shut.

The Bigger Picture: A New Era of Crypto Enforcement

This isn’t just about Russia. It’s a blueprint for how the U.S. will handle future sanctions.

In the past, sanctions targeted banks, airlines, and energy firms. Now, they target code. They target tokens. They target developers sitting in apartments in Bishkek or Yekaterinburg who write smart contracts to bypass controls.

The combination of OFAC designations, Secret Service raids, blockchain analytics firms like Elliptic, and public reward programs creates a system that’s nearly impossible to outmaneuver. The cat-and-mouse game is over. The cats now have thermal imaging, GPS trackers, and international arrest warrants.

Cryptocurrency was once seen as a tool for freedom. For many in sanctioned countries, it still is. But for those who built systems to evade justice, it’s now a liability. The rules have changed. And the U.S. is playing to win.

What’s Next?

The next move will likely come from Russia. Will the Kremlin create its own state-backed crypto? Will it partner with China’s digital yuan? Or will it double down on decentralized tools like Monero or Zcash-coins designed to hide transactions entirely?

One thing is certain: the $8 billion flowing through the A7 network didn’t vanish in August 2025. It just moved. Somewhere, someone is building the next platform. Somewhere, someone is writing the next stablecoin. And somewhere, someone is already planning how to evade the next round of sanctions.

The game isn’t over. But the stakes have never been higher.